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Guess which one of these vehicles has a motor that prevents it from going too fast for the safety of others? (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/fuckcars@lemmy.world
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[+] -23 points 1 year ago* (20 children)

I could take a picture of my truck that's governed to 90mph and one of those overpowered ebikes that only have pedals for regulatory reasons (that people ride dangerously on bike/pedestrian paths all the time) and ask the same thing. Don't get me wrong, I hate our society's dependence on cars, but this isn't making much of a point.

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  • [–] 37 points 1 year ago (11 children)

    The regulatory reasons are actually what the speed limit on bikes is about. Lots of places, once you're powered and going over 20mph they become motorcycles, meaning they can only be used on roads, require blinkers, brake lights, horns, registration, licensing, insurance, etc.

    So the manufacturers have the motor cut off at 20mph to keep them classified as bicycles.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (6 children)

    Question for everyone, if I, in the unlikely event, go over 20 mph on a bike lane using an nonelectric bike, can I get a ticket?

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    That's assuming they're actually limited, or that the limiter isn't trivial to bypass. There are a lot of them where I live and it makes trying to use the bike path frustrating sometimes. Regulation is spotty and enforcement is almost nonexistent in most locales.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    I dunno why you're getting downvotes, I built my own e bike from a kit, and the speed limiter was enabled via a jumper that was uninstalled by default. Pedal assist was also completely optional. The thing could go 45mph (about 70km/hr) on level ground

    I never rode it in pedestrian spaces though, as it would have been very unsafe to do so

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Because I outed myself as one of "those people" who dare to own a truck for literally any reason, probably.

    What kit did you use? I'm looking into building a capable ebike with my friend who needs to replace a car they can't afford and something slow would be unsafe on the highway we call a main thoroughfare between them and where they work.

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  • [–] 18 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    You could and you’d be making a similar point to the OP: cars are far more dangerous and have governors only to protect the engine from damage, not to protect people.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago*

    While I think they're being a dick, you're wrong about the purpose of governors - they're also there to prevent the loss of handling that results from low speed tires / low power power-steering being run beyond their rated capacity (and historically to prevent blowover crashes, which is only really a risk to trucks anymore)

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Why do people ride bikes on pedestrian areas?

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